


The Gift Bit

by pickleplum



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Presents, M/M, Ugly Holiday Sweaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 19:06:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9137410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickleplum/pseuds/pickleplum
Summary: With Chuck conspicuously absent from the team holiday party, Raleigh goes to find him so he doesn't miss the gift exchange.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WeekendWriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeekendWriter/gifts).



> 25 December 2021  
> Anchorage, Alaska, USA

\- Piñata, December 2021 — Raleigh B. -

Raleigh drains his second 'champagne', sighs back into the sofa cushions. He scans the team Rec for the eleventh time, then contemplates the bottom of his red paper cup by way of not. worrying.

"Hey, Ray!"

He looks over.

"Where's the kid?" says Yancy—looking **much** better in his light-up Christmas tree sweater than Raleigh does in his dancing elf one.

Raleigh shrugs. "Not here?"

Yancy rolls his eyes.

Tendo stops ogling Yancy to say, "You wanna, I dunno, **do** something about that so we can get to the presents?"

"Why don't **you** go find him? You're the logistics guy," teases Raleigh.

"That was **ages** ago and, 'sides, I'm a little occupied being eye-candy at the moment." He oozes closer to Yancy.

"How he can even **look** at you in that thing ...." Raleigh shakes his head. "Flamingos? Seriously?"

"I'll have you know **this** is a **vintage** ugly sweater, worn by my father to many a company Christmas party."

"You let him outta the house in it?"

Tendo grins. "If you're gonna go, go big."

Raleigh groans.

"Seriously, Ray. Where's your boy—"

"Don't say that word! Rules!"

Yancy and Tendo tuck in their chins and lower their eyebrows in probably-Drift-Compatible-sync.

"What?"

"My LOCCENT Commander's nearly in my lap, Ray."

"Also, if you look to your left, you'll see our marshal and his SiC are wearing matching sweaters," adds Tendo.

Raleigh glances and, sure enough, Pentecost and Hansen are wrapped in identical, hideous reindeer-sorta knitwear.

Standing **well** inside each other's personal space, too.

"So, yeah, I'm pretty sure no one's gonna care if I call your boyfriend your boyfriend."

" **He's** gonna care," pleads Raleigh. "You know how he is."

"Brother, do we **ever**."

" **Everyone** in the 'Dome knows. Because he tells everyone. Loudly."

"Just ... just keep it on the down-low so he doesn't dump me."

"We can't have **that** now."

"No, we can't."

"Please, guys, be serious."

"Maybe he needs to get the stick out of his ass."

"Cut him a break," sighs Raleigh. "He's had it rough."

"Which's why he shouldn't be left alone when there's a party available. Kid needs to have some fun."

Raleigh heaves himself to his feet. "Fine. Whatever. I'll go find him."

"He may be by the punch bowl which you can check when you're getting me a drink," says Tendo.

" **You** can get you a drink."

"I just got comfy!"

"I'm going, but only because he might actually be over there."

"That's the spirit!"

Raleigh weaves his way through the crowd of sweater-wearing mechanics and techs, collecting cheers and claps on the back as he goes. At the snack table, he passes—

"Cheung? From Team Typhoon, right?"

"Yep!"

"Lucky you got snowed in during party season, huh?"

"Yef!" replies Cheung around a sugar cookie. He waves and heads off, balancing an overflowing plate of food.

Raleigh shakes his head, sidles up to the punch, does a quick check—

Nope.

—huffs, fills cups for Tendo **and** Yancy, creeps back over, offers them.

They accept.

"Any sign of him?"

'Why are you even asking?' says Raleigh's eyebrow.

Yancy sips his. "Maybe Mako knows."

Raleigh lights up.

"Don't just stand there! Go ask her!"

Tendo makes a shooing motion.

Raleigh slouches into the crowd again, finds Mako hovering near the far wall with a glass of punch, chatting with Cheung.

"Geez, you guys eat fast."

They both raise eyebrows.

"The plate of cookies you got a minute ago? It's gone?"

Cheung beams. "They were **delicious**."

"I'll grab some later. Mako, do you know where your 'brother' is?"

"I'm not **his** Handler," she sighs.

"Nooo, but you have a sixth sense for where he is."

She replies with one of her fan **tas** tic eye-rolls.

Raleigh rubs his neck. "Uh, you think his room? Maybe?"

"It's as likely a place as any."

"Thanks. Um, I'll let you get back to what ...." He blinks at Cheung. "Weren't you wearing a Rudolph one earlier?"

Cheung looks down at himself. "Uh, no? I've had this on all night?"

"But—"

"Need to get your eyes checked, Becket?"

"Maybe I do."

"I'll schedule an appointment for you," says Mako.

"Thanks." Raleigh shakes his head, aims his feet for the crew barracks, stride picking up speed as he goes.

He hops up the steps of a standard double, knocks.

No response.

Knocks harder.

Nothing.

Bangs with his fist.

Nada.

Raleigh asks forgiveness in advance, works the combination lock, eases open the door.

Max woffles at him from where he's snuggled behind Chuck's knees.

Chuck, on his bunk with his back to the door and snoring softly, still in his _Danger_ -blue jumpsuit.

Raleigh sighs, sneaks inside, turns on the desk light.

Max lifts his head, licks his nose.

Chuck snores on, oblivious.

Raleigh tiptoes to bedside, crouches so he doesn't loom, takes a deep breath, nudges Chuck's shoulder.

He shivers, curls more tightly around himself.

Raleigh pokes again, adds a quiet, "Chuck?"

""Fu' off, Rahhh-leigh.""

"Chuck, you're missing the team Christmas party."

""Don' care. Go 'way.""

Raleigh asks for patience. "There's snacks and sparkling grape juice?"

""Don't. Care.""

"Everyone's there?"

A pause.

""My old man, too, yeah?""

"Well, yeah. And the marshal."

""Thought it was a team-only thing.""

"They're on everyone's team."

Chuck grunts.

"Sooo ...?"

""Not interested. Piss off and let me sleep.""

"Don't you want your Christmas gift?"

""No.""

"Showing up would be good for team morale?"

Chuck hunches his shoulders.

Raleigh pats himself on the back.

Chuck sits up and rubs his eyes, which does nothing about the dark circles under them.

"You look terrible," blurts Raleigh.

"Haven't slept in thirty hours 'cause've replacing those lenses **you** broke last go."

Raleigh cringes, rallies, "The crew could've done—"

"I wanted it done **right** , yeah?"

"Chief techs are supposed to give or—"

"I. don't. delegate."

Raleigh takes a deep breath, says gently, "You've got nothing to prove."

"That means exactly **nothing** coming from you," scoffs Chuck.

Raleigh's heart sinks. "I mean, you—"

"Save it." Chuck heaves himself out of bed, stretches his arms over his head—

Raleigh straightens.

—then side-eyes. "If I do the gift bit, can I skip the rest?"

"Sure."

Chuck grunts, plods to the foot of the bunk, digs in his footlocker, comes up with a wrapped box.

"What's that?"

He jams it into Raleigh's chest. "Take it."

Raleigh fights—fails to keep his heart-eyes in check as he lifts the box from Chuck's hands. "You didn't have to—"

Chuck drops himself onto the edge of the bunk. "Drew your name."

"Really?"

Chuck scuffs a heel against the deck. "Pretty sure Mako rigged it."

Raleigh snorts a laugh. "That sounds like her." He sits next to Chuck, close enough their arms lightly brush, rips off the paper, pops the flaps, and peers into a tissue paper nest. A moment of rooting around and he lifts out a stripy knitted ... thing. He blinks a few times and it resolves into a pillow-like toy rabbit, complete with floppy ears.

The stitching's uneven, the stuffing's on the lumpy side, the whole thing's wonky.

Chuck hangs his head.

"It's **adorable** ," coos Raleigh, squishing it against his chest, pressing his nose to the yarn, getting a lungful of Shatterdome detergent, engine oil, and a touch of the amber scent of Chuck's soap.

Chuck's freckles vanish under a fierce blush.

"Did you make this? Just for me?"

"Yea. Rules said I couldn't **buy** anything, so."

"You knit?"

"Brilliant deduction, Becket."

"My mom taught me to crochet. We could—"

"We're not starting a craft circle."

Raleigh laughs so hard Chuck cracks a smile.

Wiping away tears, Raleigh giggles, "What I was gonna say was, there's something we can do together when we're tired and don't want to go out. Yarn stuff."

"Oh." Chuck's ears go pink and it's even cuter than his missing freckles.

Raleigh pecks Chuck's cheek—so warm from all the blushing—whispers, "That is, if we want a change of pace from the normal night-in activities."

Chuck smirks. "Am I wearing you out, ya fossil?"

"Not even close," Raleigh smugs back.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Chuck lunges—

Raleigh rolls—not fast enough!

The rabbit goes flying; Max throws himself to the floor.

—pins Raleigh to the bed, vise grip on his wrists, plunks down on his gut.

"You win," pants Raleigh.

Chuck preens.

"This time."

Chuck glowers.

"You want your present?"

"Need a shower first."

"No, you don't. Not if you really want to stay here."

Chuck rolls his eyes. "First you drag me outta bed to **go** to the stupid party, **now** you're telling me I can fuckin' **sleep** if I wanna?"

"Well, kinda? I agreed you could skip everything but the gift bit."

"And?"

"I got you."

Chuck flicks his eyes to Raleigh's trapped arms, then back to his face. "You think so, ay?"

"For the present thing, I mean. So I can give you yours right now if you want."

"Dammit, Mori," grumbles Chuck. Louder, "Fiiine. Do I need to let you up?"

"Nah."

Chuck hides a yawn in his shoulder, releases Raleigh's hands, sits back.

"Well, I, uh, had you—and all the mechanical folks—banned from the hangar for thirty-six hours, starting—" Glances at his watch. "—a half-hour ago."

Chuck's brows wrinkle in confusion. "What? **Why?** "

"Because you need time off and I couldn't think of another way to guarantee you'd take some without reporting you to Medical."

"But there's—"

"They're pulling the fuel rods for inspection. You can't get near her."

"There's—"

"Also had your system access cut off."

"There's paper copies in—"

"Librarian's promised to throw you out."

Chuck huffs.

"You can make Piñata—"

"Wha?"

"—the rabbit a friend when you're done sleeping."

"Used all my yarn," mumbles Chuck.

"I'll steal some from the CDL for you."

Chuck shrugs, 'whatever', then gives a jaw-cracking yawn he's not quick enough to smother.

"If you let me up, I'll let you sleep."

"What if I wanna use you as a pillow?" Chuck flops forward.

Raleigh wheezes, "You've gained weight."

""You callin' me fat?""

"I'm saying you've actually eaten enough for once."

Chuck lies there like a lump, face pressed to the side of Raleigh's neck.

Raleigh smiles, settles one hand on the small of Chuck's back, threads the fingers of the other into his short hair.

Chuck hums.

They rest like that for a minute or so.

"Chuck?"

""No.""

"At least take your overalls off before you clock out."

He groans, rolls off, vanishes over the edge of the mattress—

Raleigh dives—

—lands in a crouch, straightens, plods over to the hamper.

—swings his legs over the side, leans back to enjoy the show.

Chuck nabs Piñata, tosses him into Raleigh's lap, then, with **another** yawn, Chuck strips to his tee and boxers, dumps the jumpsuit and socks in the hamper, and plods back.

He crawls past Raleigh, fluffs his pillow, and curls up again.

Raleigh tucks Piñata under his head, snuggles up, chest pressed to Chuck's back, a content big spoon.

Chuck grabs the hand Raleigh drapes over his middle, holds it to his heart.

Raleigh blinks away the start of happy tears, kisses Chuck's nape.

Chuck sighs.

Raleigh echoes.

Chuck's breathing slowly evens, deepens.

Raleigh smiles.

Chuck snores.

Raleigh grins, heart warming.

He waits a solid ten minutes to make sure Chuck's really good and out, then eases his hand from Chuck's, slides off the mattress. He picks up the blanket, floats it down over Chuck.

Max _whuff_ s from knee-level.

Raleigh scoops him up, tucks him into place behind Chuck's knees.

Max sighs, closes his eyes.

Raleigh smiles, picks up Piñata, turns off the desk lamp, and slinks out, making sure the door's locked behind him.

He floats back to his quarters, drops off his new friend, then glides to the Rec, past Hansen and Pentecost (who're even **closer** together now and Hansen's got on two sets of felt antlers), Mako and Cheung—

Raleigh rocks back a step. "Waitaminute. You were wearing one with a **wreath** before!"

Cheung looks down at his chest. "Uh, no? It's had a bow all night?"

"But—" Raleigh makes a frustrated noise. "Never mind."

""I'll move that eye exam up,"" calls Mako.

Raleigh waves over his shoulder—ignores Cheung's snickering—saunters back over to Yancy and Tendo, still holding down the same couch.

"Where's Boy Wonder?" asks Tendo.

"In his room." Raleigh drops himself in an armchair, sprawls.

"You're letting him miss the party? After all that?"

"Yep."

"You give him his gift already?"

"Yep!"

Tendo leers. "It left him too tired to join the festivities?"

"Kinda the opposite, actually?"

Yancy and Tendo raise eyebrows.

"I scored him a good night's sleep."

"What'd you do? Drug him?"

"Bribed the reactor people to declare _Danger_ off-limits for an inspection that'll take a few shifts."

Tendo gives a low whistle.

" **That's** why we're visiting that school in Palmer next month."

Raleigh nods. "Chief Melendez's grandkids wanted to meet some Rangers."

"This's either the dumbest or the sweetest Christmas gift I've ever heard about," marvels Yancy.

Raleigh smiles so hard his cheeks ache, snags a cup of 'champagne' from a tech wandering by with a tray, and takes a deep, satisfied drink.

**Author's Note:**

> Image cropped from a photo by [Devon](https://www.flickr.com/photos/devaburger/) [[CC BY-NC-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)] via [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/devaburger/3458285644/).
> 
> This is the very first time I've written this pair interacting as a couple, so hopefully I didn't mess it up _too_ badly.
> 
> WeekendWriter has a _lot_ to answer for, since their simple request for a bit of Chaleigh fluff for the PacRimHolidaySwap has spawned an entire freakin' sub- _universe_.
> 
> Let's set the stage for this universe, shall we?
> 
> See, back in 2018 a fresh from the Jaeger Academy Chuck Hansen, underwent a neural handshake test with a potential copilot. Something went horribly wrong and the resulting neural damage rendered Chuck unfit to be a Jaeger pilot. 
> 
> Another team was given _Striker Eureka_ and does very well with her.
> 
> Chuck still wants to do his part and goes back the the Academy, gets himself certified in J-Tech and works his way up to Jaeger Chief--the person in charge of keeping a given Jaeger battle-ready. He's assigned to _Lady Danger_ in early 2020 and's still an egotistical jerk with daddy issues.
> 
> Some things never change.
> 
> Without Chuck as a copilot, Herc was shipped off the Anchorage to be Stacker's second-in-command. Their relationship is the worst-kept secret in the Shatterdome.
> 
> Yancy and Raleigh escape Knifehead mostly unharmed after another Jaeger arrives in time to help them.
> 
> At Herc's urging, Stacker allows Mako to complete her Academy training early and she's assigned as Team _Lady Danger_ 's administrative assistant (Handler).
> 
> Tendo has the same job as he does in the film. XD
> 
> The 'CDL' is the Shatterdome daycare.
> 
> As with any weird sub-universe I write, folks are welcome to join me in this sandbox!


End file.
